Obama, Lee pledge increased support for 6-way N. Korea talks

By Byun Duk-kun

SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday his country will increase support for six-nation talks on ending North Korea's nuclear program, saying recent developments suggest the multilateral talks are the only way to denuclearize the communist nation, a spokesman for the South Korean presidential office said.

The remarks came in a telephone conversation between the U.S. president and his
South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak.
"Regarding the North Korean nuclear issue, President Obama said it is important
for the countries to increase their cooperation in the six-party talks,"
spokesman Lee Dong-kwan told a press briefing.
The U.S. president was quoted as saying he has learned the denuclearization of
the Korean Peninsula can be realized at an earlier date through close cooperation
within the six-way talks, "considering the recent series of developments."
Obama did not elaborate, but the remarks came amid reports that Pyongyang may be
preparing to test launch a long-range missile.
Though North Korea has a self-imposed moratorium on tests of long and
intermediate-range missiles, it test-fired a Taepodong-2 missile in July 2006,
three months before it conducted its first-ever nuclear detonation.
The Taepodong missile is believed to have a payload of 500 kilograms, which
theoretically is enough to carry a small nuclear warhead, and also have a maximum
range of 6,000 kilometers, which would include Alaska and western parts of the
U.S. in its range.
The South Korean president thanked Obama for expressing such a firm stance on the
North Korean nuclear issue and how to resolve it, his spokesman said.
Tuesday's telephone call was the first official dialogue between Lee and Obama
since the latter was inaugurated Jan. 20.